Those relief goods do reach people affected by the storms but many others in more desperate situations don’t receive what they should. The people in moderately-damaged areas get much more aid than those in worse situations.

I once heard the story of a remote mountainous district where inspectors found rats in instant noodle cartons delivered as aid to a local distribution agency months earlier. The floods had stopped weeks before, and local residents had grown tired of the noodles and stopped eating them after months of practically living off them.

But in the meantime, people in other remote districts not far away were starving after storms ruined their crops and homes and relief agencies failed to make the trek to more isolated areas. All the while, the food just stayed where it was abundant, not where it was needed.

Since last year, aid work has been managed by the Vietnam Fatherland Front as regulated by the government. Centralizing the efforts could have been a way to facilitate aid work, but with a shortage of staff and the loads of relief donated by outside sources, it has been difficult for the Front offices to manage and distribute goods to the needy promptly and properly.

A suggestion by the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) could work.

An individual or company wishing to donate goods to the needy could register where and who they want to donate to at the local Fatherland Front office. The donors would then also suggest which individual or agency should transport and deliver the goods. Then, the local Fatherland Front office would just have to receive the goods, while distribution would be tasked to a local company.

With this suggestion, each agency has specific responsibilities in managing and distributing the goods. More importantly, the neediest people would get the most support as the donors would not want to waste their goods and they must choose the right agency to help send their relief.

Reported by Tra Son